Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell was heckled and booed yesterday by university lecturers locked in a dispute over pay.

The minister was jeered during a speech to union Natfhe's annual conference as he urged it to end an exam boycott. Students across the country face having exam papers left unmarked as unions and university chancellors struggle to reach a pay deal.

Rammell told the conference he was proud of the government's record on academics' pay. Delegates held placards marked 'We know it's there, where's our share?' and chanted demands for better wages. The minister was slow hand-clapped during a question-and-answer session as lecturers shouted, 'Show us the money'.

More than 23 hours of talks between the AUT union, Natfhe and university employers association UCEA last week failed to release the deadlock.

AUT and Natfhe members rejected a pay offer of 12.6 per cent over three years, calling for a 23 per cent increase.